You are here
Home > Basketball > Postgame wrap: Pelicans 120, Pacers 98

Postgame wrap: Pelicans 120, Pacers 98

Fallback Image

All of a sudden, New Orleans is playing some of the stingiest, most aggressive defense in the NBA. As a result, the wins are starting to come – even against some of the league’s premier teams. Three days after stunning Denver on the Nuggets’ home floor in a Christmas matchup, the Pelicans knocked off another opponent that was 10-plus games over .500 Saturday, putting the clamps on Indiana’s offense in the final three quarters.

Since losing a heartbreaking overtime game to Brooklyn on Dec. 17, New Orleans has gone 4-1, including road victories at Minnesota, Portland and the aforementioned Denver. The Pelicans will try to register a season-best four-game winning streak Sunday at home vs. Houston.

IT WAS OVER WHEN…

New Orleans kept repeatedly beating Indiana to the ball on a Pelicans possession, with the end result being E’Twaun Moore canning a three-pointer from the left corner, making it 101-76 with 7:31 left, the team’s largest in-game lead of the entire 2019-20 season. The Pelicans grabbed multiple offensive rebounds and seemed to outhustle the Pacers for an extended stretch of the second half. Indiana was playing in the second game of a back-to-back, having lost by a point at Miami on Friday.

PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME

Playing against his two brothers, Justin and Aaron, Jrue Holiday was the best sibling on the court Saturday, finishing with 20 points in 29 minutes. Jrue personified the night for New Orleans, because he scored just two points in the first quarter, but was excellent after that, dropping in eight points in the second quarter and 12 more in the third. The Pelicans won those middle quarters by an overwhelming 67-36 margin. Holiday also compiled seven assists.

#SATURDAYSCORER

For all 14 Saturday games throughout New Orleans’ regular season, we’ll be selecting a Pelicans player we think will most exceed his season scoring average for that day’s game. Daniel Sallerson picked E’Twaun Moore, while Jim Eichenhofer took Derrick Favors. In a fan poll among four other candidates, Lonzo Ball was chosen. The seventh Saturday contest was won by the fans, with Ball’s 13 points (10.1 ppg) giving him an extremely narrow edge over Moore (11 points, 9.2 ppg) and Favors (10 points, 8.0 ppg), making the season standings: Daniel 3, Jim 2, Fans 2. Sallerson and Eichenhofer could not repeat a player among any of the first seven Saturday games.

Previous winners:

Oct. 26 at Houston, Fans – Lonzo Ball (Daniel pick: Nickeil Alexander-Walker; Jim: JJ Redick)

Nov. 2 at Oklahoma City, Daniel – JJ Redick (Jim: Jrue Holiday; Fans: Lonzo Ball)

Nov. 9 at Charlotte, Daniel – Kenrich Williams (Jim: Brandon Ingram; Fans: Jrue Holiday)

Nov. 16 at Miami, Jim – E’Twaun Moore (Daniel: Frank Jackson; Fans: Jrue Holiday)

Nov. 23 at Utah, Daniel – Jrue Holiday (Jim: Frank Jackson; Fans: JJ Redick)

Dec. 7 at Dallas, Jim – Jaxson Hayes (Daniel: Lonzo Ball; Fans: Brandon Ingram)

FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsAppBloggerShare
Tutorialspoint
el-admin
el-admin
EltasZone Sportswriters, Sports Analysts, Opinion columnists, editorials and op-eds. Analysis from The Zone Team
Top